Daniel and Lily

Last updated
Daniel and Lily
Lily Daniel CK MG.jpg
Duration2004–07, 2011, 2023–
Created by David Shaughnessy
In-universe information
Other namesDaily
Spouse2006–07

Daniel Romalotti and Lily Winters are fictional characters and a popular supercouple [1] from the American soap opera The Young and the Restless . Daniel was portrayed by Michael Graziadei and Lily is portrayed by Christel Khalil. Davetta Sherwood took over the part in 2006, until Khalil returned in September of that year. The plots they were featured in included a "going on the run" story, teenage marriage, and Internet pornography. They were written as a star-crossed couple with Romeo and Juliet undertones. [2] The couple is referred to by the portmanteau "Daily" (for Daniel and Lily) on Internet message boards. They were considered a dynamic duo by the soap opera media. [2]

Contents

Development

Early stages

Daniel Romalotti and Lily Winters were written as star-crossed young loves in a Romeo and Juliet style storyline. [2] Both her parents, Neil Winters and Drucilla Winters, and his mother, Phyllis Summers, tried to keep them apart. This was partly due to Drucilla and Phyllis's animosity towards each other. They were put up against further obstacles with Daniel being wrongly accused of driving under the influence and killing Cassie Newman. His imminent arrest sent Daniel and Lily on the run. They traveled from the Young and the Restless setting, Genoa City, Wisconsin, to Los Angeles, California. [2] For the story, the show went on a location shoot to the beaches of Malibu. The actors on the shoot were Daniel and Lily's portrayers, Michael Graziadei and Christel Khalil, respectively, as well as Kristoff St. John (Neil), Michelle Stafford (Phyllis), and Joshua Morrow (Nick, Cassie's father). Graziadei felt that going on location added to the scenes in the story. "[I]t's just so much more involved," he said. "You're actually out there." [2] Originally, the Daniel character was introduced as a bad boy. His relationship with Lily was used as a way to show a different side of the character. In that way, the Lily character was said to have "tamed" him. [3]

The romance was put on hold when Khalil chose to exit the role of Lily in late 2005. [4] In the storyline, Lily's parents sent her to boarding school in an effort to keep her and Daniel apart. [4] After the actress's departure, the series continued Lily and Daniel's interactions through a letter and communication over the internet. The website, SoapCity displayed the letter and the emails. [5] [6] The character's email addresses reflected the continued Romeo and Juliet theme by featuring the names of those Shakespearean characters as Lily became Ibejuliet and Daniel took on the name Iberomeo. [6] Two months after Khalil's departure, the Young and the Restless attempted to convince the actress to come back to the role. Those attempts failed. [7] The show's then head writer and executive producer John F. Smith planned to recast the role and promised to "bring an entirely new level" to Daniel and Lily's story. [4] Davetta Sherwood was hired as the Lily recast. [1]

Advancements

Sherwood expressed unconcern in taking the place of an actress who took part in creating the popular Daniel and Lily romance. [1] "It's okay, because she [Khalil] wanted to leave," she said, "she was ready to move on, which is always a good thing. I haven't gotten any Lily versus Lily, or Christel verses Davetta mail." [1] Daniel and Lily's popularity continued with Sherwood in the role. [8] The way Sherwood portrayed the character was with more feistiness, though the character was never written as timid. Sherwood's take on the part brought on comparison's to the character's mother, Drucilla. That new "fire" was brought into the Daniel and Lily relationship. "Dru can be a little dramatic," Sherwood said. "And I think sometimes when Lily is facing issue with Daniel, she's not going to remain calm. She's going to do what she saw her mother do." [1] The actress praised the couple's story for not focusing on the differing races of the characters. [8]

In September 2006, Sherwood was replaced by Khalil. [7] Former Young and the Restless executive producer and head writer Lynn Marie Latham said, "Davetta did a fine job, but shows generally prefer to have original players back when they can get them." [7] Upon her return, Khalil was surprised by the advancement of Daniel and Lily's story and with the Lily character as a whole, particularly the new development of the characters being married. [9]

Conclusion

An obstacle written into the couple's story was Daniel's addiction to Internet pornography. [10] "My initial conflict was that Daniel has had so many problems with his wife that I couldn't figure out why he'd be doing this," Graziadei said. [10] The actor worried that his character might be seen as "lecherous and creepy". Viewers instead sympathized with the character. This addiction and the lies surrounding it ended the Daniel and Lily romance. [10] Lily next moved on to a controversial pairing with Cane Ashby, disappointing Daniel and Lily fans. [11] "I think with Daniel it was kind of a first love thing," Khalil said. "Daniel will always be in her heart, but with Cane, it's a more mature love." She asserted that Lily and Cane were true loves. [11]

Storyline

In 2004, Daniel and Lily become friends while hanging out at the Crimson Lights coffee shop. Daniel becomes involved in a scheme to drug Lily along with Kevin Fisher (Greg Rikaart) and Alex (Nick Chastain). The following year, they get romantically involved. Their mothers, Drucilla Winters (Victoria Rowell) and Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford), do not approved due to their rivalry and attempt to keep them apart. While at a party, Daniel and Lily break up, causing him to drown his sorrows in alcohol. His under-aged crush Cassie Newman (Camryn Grimes) decides to drive a drunken Daniel home, as they both live on the same property. However, Cassie ends up crashing the car, injuring both of them. Daniel is arrested after Cassie dies when neither of them can remember the incident, and he is expected to have been driving. He goes on the run with Lily to Los Angeles, but they are soon caught. Daniel's trial ends well, when evidence that Daniel wasn't driving is presented. Lily, however, is arrested for aiding and abetting a fugitive. In a plea bargain with the courts, Lily's parents send her to a boarding school in New Hampshire.

In 2006, Lily arrives home from boarding school but tricks her parents into believing she broke her relationship off with Daniel by sending him a Dear John letter. They soon secretly reconcile and sneak around with the help of Lily's best friend Colleen Carlton (Adrianne León). A Winters family revelation, which Lily and Drucilla hid for years, revealed that Malcolm Winters (Shemar Moore), not Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) fathered Lily. During this time, Lily decided to announce her romance with Daniel, thinking her parents wouldn't mind after this news. However, both are still objective to Daniel and Lily, demanding she go back to boarding school. This causes Daniel and Lily to run away to Las Vegas to get married. As they are under legal age to marry, they forge Dru and Neil's signatures. They are soon tracked down and brought home. While their families are devastated that they are married, they soon learn to accept that this is what the couple truly want.

Daniel's former stepfather Jack Abbott gives him and Lily a new place to stay at the old Abbott play house. Daniel begins working at Newman Enterprises as a mailman while Lily becomes a salesperson at Lauren Baldwin's Jabot Cosmetics boutique. All is well until Alex returns, seeking money from Daniel and Kevin, or he will tell Lily about their scheme to drug and rape her two years ago. Daniel reveals the truth to Lily, and she moves out of their home. Although Lily is advised to get an annulment, she grows closer to Daniel and they eventually get back together. Troubles continue to follow the Winters, including the murder of a woman who nearly had an affair with Neil, Carmen Mesta (Marisa Ramirez), which allowed everyone in the family including Daniel and Lily to become a suspect. In 2007, Daniel and Lily witness Dru and her best friend (also Cassie's mother) Sharon Abbott (Sharon Case) fall off a cliff after a fight with Phyllis, who is still their enemy. Sharon is found, although Dru's body is never retrieved and she is presumed dead. Lily blames Phyllis for her mother's death, causing more of a rift between the couple.

Daniel becomes addicted to pornography made by Amber Moore (Adrienne Frantz) and soon begins to neglect Lily. Lily finds out and they begin couples counseling. Later, Daniel becomes involved in more schemes including burying a dead body with Amber and Kevin along with going to a strip bar while under age. After Lily finds out all of this, she decides to end her marriage to Daniel. In the following years, they both move onto other relationships. Daniel marries Amber and Lily marries the much older Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard). However, they remain best friends.

In 2010, when Lily is diagnosed with cancer, Daniel becomes her confidant. [12] The following year, Cane is "killed" by a henchman working for his father. Lily leans on Daniel for emotional support. When Cane returns, it was revealed he never died, and it was his twin who was killed. Lily is extremely angry at Cane for keeping him being alive from her, as well as all of the drama going on in his family, and reconnects further with Daniel. Daniel tells Lily to divorce Cane, which she does. Cane later witnesses Daniel and Lily kissing at Jimmy's bar. However, Lily soon learns why Cane lied and reunites with him, devastating Daniel.

See also

Related Research Articles

Davetta Sherwood is an American actress and musician. Sherwood first worked as a child model before venturing into an acting career including appearing in music videos and guest appearances. Her first breakthrough acting role was on the Emmy award-winning soap opera The Young and the Restless, which earned her a nomination for the NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series". In 2008, she launched her production company, 5 Foot Nuthin Productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drucilla Winters</span> Fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless

Drucilla Winters is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Created by William J. Bell as an effort to add more African American characters to the cast, the role was portrayed by Victoria Rowell. Rowell left the role in 2000 to pursue other projects and Alexia Robinson was introduced as Alex Perez, a replacement character, shortly after. Rowell later returned in August 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Winters</span> Fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lily Winters</span> Soap opera character

Lily Winters is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Created by William J. Bell, the character appeared as a child for her first five-year period. In 2002, Christel Khalil began portraying Lily as a teenager after the character rapidly aged. In 2005, Khalil left the series, resulting in the character's recasting with Davetta Sherwood; however, Sherwood's portrayal was brief when Khalil was asked to return the following year. Khalil began playing the character as a "rebellious, yet naive teenager", later becoming one of the soap opera's heroines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devon Hamilton</span> Fictional character

Devon Hamilton is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network, portrayed by Bryton James. The character made his first appearance on June 1, 2004, and was introduced as a homeless teenager who is taken in by the Winters family, the core African-American family within the series. Drucilla Winters sympathizes with Devon because she too was a product of the foster care system. Drucilla and her husband Neil raise Devon along with their daughter Lily and legally adopt him in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassie Newman</span> Fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless

Cassie Newman is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. Portrayed by Camryn Grimes, the character was introduced on March 19, 1997, by William J. Bell as the biological daughter of Sharon Newman who had been adopted. Grace Turner, Sharon's best friend, tracked Cassie down in hopes of reuniting her with Sharon, but decided to keep the girl for herself. A year passed before Sharon learned Cassie was her daughter, regaining custody with her husband Nicholas Newman, who adopted her.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Romalotti</span> Fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless

Danny Romalotti is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by Michael Damian. The character of Danny first appeared in Genoa City, the town where Y&R is set, in 1981. Damian and his character Danny exited the show in 1998, though Danny has returned on several occasions in 2002, 2003 to 2004, 2008, 2012 to 2013, and 2022 to 2023. A rock star, the character is known for his relationships with Traci Abbott, Lauren Fenmore, Christine "Cricket" Blair, and Phyllis Summers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cane Ashby</span> Fictional character from The Young and the Restless

Cane Ashby is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. He is portrayed by Australian actor Daniel Goddard, who had auditioned for Brad Snyder on As the World Turns but was recommended for a role on The Young and the Restless instead. The role was to be portrayed as an American, but Goddard's Australian descent influenced the character's background. Former head writer Lynn Marie Latham introduced him during the episode airing on January 12, 2007 as an Australian bartender in search of his family. Latham created Cane as the son of Phillip Chancellor II and Jill Abbott but the character's background was rewritten by Maria Arena Bell in 2009, re-establishing him as the son of Colin and Genevieve Atkinson.

The storylines of the soap opera The Young and the Restless have changed over the years since the show debuted in 1973. Originally examining the lives of the wealthy Brooks and the poor Fosters, a series of recasts and departures in the early 1980s turned the focus of The Young and the Restless to the Abbotts and the Newmans, including the corporate rivalry between their two respective companies. However, one basic plot that has run throughout almost all of the program's history is the rivalry between Jill Foster Abbott and Katherine Chancellor, similar to the show's sister show, The Bold and the Beautiful, regarding Brooke Logan and Stephanie Forrester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Romalotti</span> Fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amber Moore</span> Soap opera character

Amber Moore is a fictional character from the American soap operas The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless. Throughout the character's entire history, she has been portrayed by Adrienne Frantz, first introduced by Bradley Bell to The Bold and the Beautiful on July 18, 1997. She was a babysitter for Brooke Logan and Eric Forrester's children, but ended up having a romance with their son, Rick Forrester. As a young woman, she endured several challenges including being drugged and raped, having a relationship with a younger man and becoming an enemy of Sheila Carter, a psychotic criminal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barber/Winters family</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Michaelson</span> Fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilary Curtis</span> Fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless

Hilary Curtis is a fictional character from the original CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless portrayed by Mishael Morgan. The character was introduced by executive producer Jill Farren Phelps in 2013 under head writers Josh Griffith and Shelly Altman. Hilary comes to town as the seemingly innocent assistant to CEO of Chancellor Industries Cane Ashby but it is soon revealed that she has a vendetta against Cane's father-in-law Neil Winters, whom she blames for her mother's death. With the help of her accomplice Mason Wilder, Hilary takes pleasure in tormenting the entire Winters family by trying to get Neil to fall off the wagon and drugging Cane into her bed. After she is exposed, and finds forgiveness and compassion from Neil and Jack Abbott, a grateful Hilary becomes involved with Neil despite developing feelings for his son Devon Hamilton. Hilary marries Neil in 2014 and begins an affair with Devon soon after. Hilary's actions ignite a feud with Neil's daughter and Cane's wife, Lily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devon Hamilton and Hilary Curtis</span> Soap opera character

Devon Hamilton and Hilary Curtis are fictional characters and a supercouple from the American CBS soap opera, The Young and the Restless. Devon Hamilton, portrayed by Bryton James is the biological grandson of the show's iconic matriarch, Katherine Chancellor, portrayed by Jeanne Cooper and the adopted son of Neil Winters and Drucilla Winters, played by Kristoff St. John and Victoria Rowell. Hilary Curtis, portrayed by Mishael Morgan was introduced in 2013 as woman looking for revenge on Neil and the Winters family for Neil's part in her mother's death.

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